Transportation Protection

Strengthening Infrastructure Through Investment

The people have spoken: Seems that we want funding for transportation. Seems like a good idea.

Earlier this month, we highlighted transportation measures that were up for consideration in advance of election day.

Now, with (mostly) all the votes in, The Eno Center for Transportation reports that, of the more than 138 transportation ballot measures throughout the nation (those that were not local road millages), “voters approved over $30 billion for transportation.” Which is pretty extraordinary.

Digging deeper, Eno found that voters approved some 75% of proposed measures for all of 2018, while rejecting some 25%.

Some examples. CityLab reports:

“Some of the biggest wins were in Florida. Broward County said yes on a one-cent sales tax increase to pay for road, bus, and rail upgrades. The measure is expected to raise $16 billion over the next 30 years for South Florida’s mobility needs. Hillsborough County said yes on a one-cent sales tax increase to fund transportation investments…

“And nearly 81 percent of voters in Austin, Texas, said yes to a $160 million bond measure for a grab-bag of multimodal transportation investments, including street, signal, and sidewalk upgrades.”

As a 3PL, NATCO manages deliveries across the nation. Literally and figuratively, roads provide our lifelines. So, when cities pass measures for transportation improvement, that last-mile delivery is an essential component to our on-time delivery.

At the state level, a similar formula is in play. For example, Connecticut had Amendment 1 on the ballot. It would “require that all revenue placed in the state’s Special Transportation Fund (STF) be used for transportation purposes, including the payment of transportation-related debts. The state legislature would be prohibited from spending the fund on non-transportation purposes.”

The results? Connecticut passed it.

At work here is a foundation of such ballot measures: people know that they’ll be paying more money. All in the name of better infrastructure. We appreciate that.